2024 Sydney Hobart – Hard charging. Comanche latest scalp
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS 27 Dec 2024 00:28 AEDT
26 December, 2024
Master Lock Comanche stretching its legs as she leaves Sydney Harbour - 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race © ROLEX | Carlo Borlenghi
It’s in the name. Belting downhill is just plain brutal on boats. Heaps of fun, but everything and everyone is doing it, well, hard.
Rudder bearings can leak and then it can go from bad to worse. Steering gets snapped, bent, or fails. Boats stop when they hit the next wave, but the rigs keep on going. Chain plates can ‘move’, and I have even seen the shrouds cut through the carbon like a wire cheese cutter. To say nothing of the rags themselves. Water and electrics never mix, especially with salt added. At these speeds and in these conditions, there is a mist than invades everything. Everything. Then there is water and fuel. No power for drive and to charge said electronics, means nav and comms are compromised.
Our thoughts are with the crews, and thankfully we have not had reports of any human injuries to date. We hope it stays that way. Of course, the night is young, the change has not arrived, as yet, and the seas not nearly as bad as what they are going to get when the washing machine gets turned on. For the moment it is all going in one direction. Soon, things will not be thus.
The Sydney to Eden race was part of The Traditional Hobart, and now Shellharbour with its new marina will possibly become the home of the new Sydney to Shellharbour Yacht Race…
Six vessels have now retired (Alive was first, then Transcendence Ruby Poroject, Ciao Bella, URM and Philosopher – three of them dismasted, one engine problems, and one to steering). 99 are still racing. Now at the time of writing the lead between the supermaxis is around two nautical miles, in favour of LawConnect, with Comanche doing just 2.6knots SOG on a bearing that is just a little too West. We will see if they are just fixing something, or if more serious problems are afoot…
Alas, Comanche who was so far ahead of her own record pace is now retired at sea due to mainsail damage. Shame.
The supermaxis have chewed up about 210nm already from the 628nm course, and may sail 700nm to get there. We will see what happens… For now Wild Thing 100 is now in second place.
Smuggler leads overall under IRC, Celestial Div 0 and is third for Line Honours, Smuggler Div 1, Yeah Baby Div 2, Bacchanal from the USA Div 3, Mistral Div 4, and Disko Trooper Div 5. Pacman is in front on corrected time for the Double-Handers.
Remember the rules - In order to finish first, first you have to finish, and to take the silverware, you have to win your division, too. By morning Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time a different picture will have taken shape. Flyers might have been grounded, or well and truly throttled back. Earlier on, and on board LawConnect, Christian Beck gives a great account of things that have occurred, and yet to come in our news show, below. He may have a new name soon - Prophet.
Watch LawConnect Live streamed for the entire race.
Please enjoy your yachting, stay safe, and thanks for tuning into Sail-World.com
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